Log Date
by OneLetteredWonder
Summary: Earth is a quick mission, nothing more. Though, the human is making it more interesting that Ivan might not want to leave. His robotic companions will be fine, there is more to experience on the planet than just the ground it holds. Alien au.
1. Log 4 - Today I landed on earth

Ivan's fingers dance over the controls, easily finding the proper buttons to press while his eyes stay glued to the screen in front of him. He watches as the progression of his ship slowly descends, coming up on the planet Earth's atmospheric layer. He glances over to another screen to his left, detailing his mission. He scans the bullets quickly, then settles back on the center screen with his ship's systems to his right.

"K.A.T. turn off the extremities, get ready to put all the power into the rockets to brace us," He calls out to no other living being in his single person space. A new screen pops up in front of him, showing him a digitalized face.

"Yes sir," The face says, smiling gently and then disappearing. The lights above him turn off one by one, leaving a solitary soft light above him so he can see what he's doing. He grips tight to the controls as his ship descends carefully. It rocks uneasily as it kisses the atmosphere of the planet he is visiting, taking his ship down. He presses a few more buttons to his side, then returns his hand to the wheel used for steering, pulling it towards him to activate the rockets. His ship lurches and evens out. He glances to his right to see the height of his ship slowly decline as he makes his way towards ground.

He lets a small moment break his concentration to look out the front of his ship, taking in the stars from above him, never once losing the awe of seeing them. Trees start to take form on the ground, plants he read about in documents back on his home. He takes a deep breath and focuses back on steering his ship to safety. His vision swims momentarily and he shakes his head to remove the fog that covers his eyes. The ships bumps, knocking him off his feet.

"KA.T.!" He yells out. The face reappears, looking nervous, the steering mechanism now moving on it's own. Ivan places his hands to his head and inhales slowly. The excess amount of oxygen in earth's atmosphere makes his head swim. He stands slowly, grabbing at the wheel again to get back in control.

"Are you alright sir?" The face asks, moving to a new part of the screen. Ivan nods his head once, not taking a chance in getting light headed again. His neck throbs and he holds his breath to keep his eyes from getting blurry. The ships rocks and he sees a clearing in the trees that reach up to the sky. He makes a risky maneuver for it, circling in the sky a few times before descending. The landing is not as soft as he wishes, having hit the ship early damaged his landing gear. He braces himself for the touch to ground, actually falling over when the ship is stopped.

"K.A.T. get the breathing system running," He orders, crawling his way to the back of his ship. He vaguely hears a confirmation and a few choice lights come on. Ivan pulls at a lever, bringing down a machine for him to fit inside. He pulls himself up and closes the door. Finally he's able to take a deep breath and not feel dizzy. He heard that Earth had more breathable air but he didn't know that much. He waits patiently for the machine to connect to one of his three lungs, shutting it down to act like a regular pair of earthling lungs. He rubs at the filters on his neck, smoothing them out to stop their spazzing.

He exits the machine carefully, testing out the new breathing with much more success. He approaches the main panel of his ship. He sends a quick smile to the face on his screen who smiles back relieved. He taps at the systems screen, grimacing at the amount of things that are wrong. There could be more, but there shouldn't have been any if he changed his breathing before descending. He sighs.

"Are you sure none of them saw us?" K.A.T. asks quietly. Ivan hums and smiles at her with a nod of his head.

"I watched their telescopes for days, this area has a blind spot for nearly 3 minutes." Ivan pulls his clothing closer, the black long sleeve contrasting to the slight purple tint of his skin. The hem of his dark purple pants are stuffed into black boots as he pauses with his hand over the button to open the ship door. He takes a deep breath, safely now, and presses it.

Ivan shivers instantly. He wraps his arms around himself and his breath fogs in front of him. He thought he chose a warmer spot of earth, apparently not. He walks around to the side of his ship where one of the short wedge like wings is banged and the underside of the ship is scraped open. He grimaces and walks back into the ship.

"N.A.T." He says aloud. In the corner of the ship, a small silver box beeps. It pop flat on it's own and like a spider, spindles of metal and wires unfold and open to take form in a skeletal service robot with long liquid like silver hair. The body is thin but strong, covered in wires with a solid interior of the strongest metals his planet knows.

"Reporting," The robot says in a higher pitched voice, it's hair flying around it's blank face. Ivan huffs.

"R.E.T." He commands. Three smaller blocky bots come rushing forward, boxy with wheels to move, bumping into each other and standing with salutes to their boxy heads.

"Reporting!" They say together. Ivan nods his head and walks back outside, knowing the robots are following. He guides N.A.T. to the side of the ship, her head tilting back and forth before putting her hands on the wing and tearing it off completely. It looks at the inside wires, then reaches a hand up to it's hair, having it morph into in the tools needed. It sets to work on repairs and Ivan faces the smaller bots.

"T. help N.A.T. with repairs. E. and R. scout perimeter, let me know of any earthling settlements within five marks of here." Ivan orders and points out where he wants the service bots to go. They salute with a quick 'yes sir' and roll off on their two fat wheels. Ivan watches them go and when he can't see them any more he turns back up to the stars above him. They are clear in this part of earth. He chose this spot for that as well, wanting to be able to look back and try to see home if he can. He can barely make out his system, two of his eyes dilate to fit the night around him.

N.A.T. growls suddenly and Ivan turns to see the poor little T. bot getting held off a sharp point of the technician's hair. He laughs softly and goes back inside the ship. K.A.T.'s eyes are darting back and forth, looking at parts of the ship Ivan can't see. He moves to the back of the ship, pulling out a drawer to reveal his scanner. He lifts it up by the two big handles on the sides and the clear screen in front. He taps it a few times, waking it up. It beeps mercilessly once outside and begins to scan the ground for his mission. He scans a small square, scouting a good place to set up a rod.

He snaps his head up when his two scouting bots come back through the trees with their arms in the air like they're running from something.

"There is one earth settlement three marks to the end," The little E. bot sputters out pointing in the direction they mean. Ivan looks that way, making out the lights of an earthling town in the distance. He then turns his attention to the little R. bot. It shakes in the earthling ground, it's wheels not fully settling in one spot.

"No settlements to report!" It beeps out. Ivan nods his head and goes back to his ship, taping the front covering with his finger to get K.A.T.'s attention. The face appears on the outside, smiling down at him.

"Take note of our position and anything you can find within five marks." He says and the face nods, disappearing back to the inside. Ivan rubs at the back of his neck, his gills now having settled. He tries to pull his clothes closer in the cold of Earth, turning around to help N.A.T. and actually freezing in his spot.

"Holy shit," the earthling says staring at him with a light stick in their hand pointed down. Ivan tenses and his bots stop moving. K.A.T. returns to the outside to report, only to 'eep' and vanish. The human takes a step closer and Ivan reflexively takes a step back. He's read reports on earthlings and some can be very nice, and some can be very very mean. He's not sure what kind this one is.

" _Holy shit_ ," They say again though with more stress on their words. Ivan glances about them, wondering if he should just run for it when they drop to the ground to stare up at him.

"Oh my god Mattie is never going to believe me," They say and laugh slightly. Ivan twists his hands around his shirt. One of his bots nudge him from behind. He glances down at E. and it moves it's little robot arms towards the earthling in an inviting motion. Ivan turns his eyes back to the human taking in their appearance. Blue eyes and blonde hair from what he's read of their colors. Nothing else can be noted. Ivan swallows his nerves.

"Hello," He says and the human is up and in front of him in an instant. Ivan slams back into his ship, rocking it slightly at the sudden closeness. The humans eyes are wide and a smile plastered on their face. Ivan blinks down at them.

"Hi," They breath out. Ivan shifts away from them. K.A.T. appears as a small screen to see what's going on. The earthling bites their lip.

"Are you.. Are you actually an alien?" They asks somewhat hopeful. Ivan nods his head, no sense in lying. The earthling places their hands to their faces and shakes back and forth.

"I knew it," They say happily. Ivan takes a cautious step towards them, flinching a little when they smile at him.

"Are you able to keep this secret?" He asks quietly. The earthlings nods their head quickly, dragging to fingers across their lips and throwing their hand over their shoulder. Ivan raises an eyebrow to the act but does not question. He glances back up the sky, noticing less stars than normal. His eyes widen and he panics turning back to his ship.

"Where are you going?" The earthling asks. Ivan glances over at them.

"Sun, can't be found," He says, helping his robots back into the ship.

"You can hide in the barn near my house!" The human offers. Ivan pauses with N.A.T. by him. They share a quick look and the human bounces in their spot.

"I live just over there! And no one goes there," They point to a building in the distance but very close to where they are. The roof of a big red building sticks out over the trees. Ivan narrows his eyes and looks inside the ship towards the little R. robot who had been in charge of scouting that area. They 'eep' and hide behind the others. Ivan sighs.

"If you can.." He trails off. The human nods their head and comes towards him again.

"Absolutely! No problem at all!" They say. Ivan stares at them, judging blatantly. He never expected, or wanted, to meet a human on his mission. He didn't want to have to run or play nice with them if he didn't have to. He looks back to the skyline, seeing the colors grow lighter and lighter. He closes his eyes, only opening his less sensitive two once he's reached a conclusion.

"K.A.T." He turns to the ship, seeing the face screen grow to look down at him. He ignores the exclamation from the human.

"Enable invisibility until we can transfer the ship to the safe spot. You may shift to the portable if you please." He bows his head and the face does the same. Ivan backs away, his little robots hopping out of the ship to stand by him. N.A.T. stands by him as well, linking their arms and glaring at the human though their attention is solely on the ship as it shimmers and ripples carefully taking in it's surroundings until it can't be seen.

"Whoa," Ivan glances at the earthling, their mouth dropped open and their eyes bright with curiosity. He snaps his head back to where the ship is when K.A.T. appears as a small floating screen with robotic arms attached. They play with their three robotic fingers, nervous as anything. Ivan smiles fondly then turns to the human.

"Please, hide us," He asks. The human nods and starts walking away. N.A.T. barely hisses and follows first being the one with the most defense skills if the human is to turn on them in the next few earthly minutes. Ivan gasps when K.A.T. bumps into him. They squeak and he giggles nervously with them. He grabs one of their robotic hands tightly to guide them along. He didn't have to choose a ship with an A.I. that had confidence issues, but he likes K.A.T. They are sweet and kind.

Now that he thinks about it, all of his technicals are 'defective' according to his home planets standards. N.A.T. had a temperamental A.I. system and his helping bots have nervous tendencies. The little one R. has faulty wiring he could never get right to make the little bot stop shaking. He squeezes K.A.T.'s hand more himself when the big red tinted building comes into full view.

"So this is the barn, no one comes here except me. My house is over there," The human points in the distance, half a mark away from the barn. A whiter building barely peaking over the trees. Ivan bows his head and the robotics do the same, even if they don't want to.

"Thank you for sheltering us," Ivan says and walks to the door of the barn.

"Wait!" He flinches out of instinct. The human has a hand up to him and recoils soon when N.A.T. steps in front of him. Ivan clicks with his tongue to all her back. The technician hisses but does so. Ivan blinks at the human, his eyes sensing the small changes in their body posture and nerves coming over them.

"Uhm. Can I stay and talk to you?" They ask hopefully. Ivan tilts his head to the side, wondering why. He doesn't see why the human would want to. People on his own planet tend to limit their interaction with others, hence all the robots. Ivan shakes his head.

"Forgive me, but we need to rest for repairs tomorrow." It's not a total lie. Ivan is tired, now having a sense of passing being on the ground. He needs to go over a plan for his mission and his ship. He does not want to do that with the human there. The earthling nods their head, taking a step back.

"My name's Alfred," They say with a bright smile. Ivan opens his mouth to respond and the air catches in his gills. He swallows hard, again curious as to how carefree the human is. They are trusting, open, something he is not entirely used to.

"Ivan," he says with another small nod of his head. He's not sure how but the human's smile grows. They wave and run to the house in the distance.

"Dislike," Ivan giggles at the blunt answer to a question he did not ask. He smiles at N.A.T who is opening the door to the barn with one hand.

"Worry," N.A.T. glances at him over their shoulder and slips into the barn. The tiny bots follow with K.A.T. after them. Ivan takes one last glance to where he knows his ship is then goes inside.

Hay isn't his favorite thing he decides, but it will be comfier than the flat board he slept on for his journey. The little bots are throwing straws at each other while K.A.T. over sees. Ivan has his hand held scanner in his lap with N.A.T. looking over his shoulder. Tomorrow they move the ship so repairs can continue in the light hours. They will evolve an opinion about the human, Alfred, later.


	2. Log 7 - The human asks many questions

Ivan opens his eyes to the sound of scraping. He sits up and his head swims not knowing how to handle waking on the Earth's surface. Accidentally he opens all four eyes and hisses as his more sensitive two are nearly blinded by earthen light. He shuts them hard and covers them with his hands for good measure. His other eyes he leaves open to blink hard at the ground a few times to clear his vision. Finally he looks up to N.A.T. leaning casually against the barn door. Ivan tilts his head to the side and the door jiggles harshly from something trying to enter.

"Entrance?" The robot asks in a seething voice. Ivan nods his head, not sure what he is granting entrance too. N.A.T. shrugs and moves, the barn door moving open to the human from the night before, looking a little out of breath.

"Dude if I knew the door got stuck I would have warned you." Alfred rubs the back of their head awkwardly and Ivan giggles shortly. He sends a knowing look to his mechanic.

"You sleep okay in here?" The human strides forward making Ivan tense. The human sits in front of him like they've done so thousands of times before. They smile at Ivan expectantly, waiting for an answer. Ivan glances down and nods once.

"Yes, softer than I'm used to." To that the human sticks their tongue out. Before they can respond the little bots come bursting out of the hay and huddle around Ivan. He looks up to K.A.T. looking miffed on the screen.

"They almost broke something," The face says. Ivan 'hmms' in thought. If the robots broke something then he'd have to repay the human somehow. Alfred surprises him by laughing, making Ivan give them a incredulous look.

"This place is old, I'm happy the roof didn't cave in," Ivan is still stuck on the laughter. His own people laugh sure, but nothing as loud and boisterous as what just came from the human. He's almost curious to see what else they do.

"Fix," N.A.T. says seriously. Ivan nods his head to the robot's word. Even if 'defective', his mechanic can fix anything. Something he is very thankful for.

"So what are your guys's names?" Alfred focuses on the robots and the three little ones hide behind N.A.T.. Ivan sighs and stands, wiggling his back to get out the bodily kinks.

"This is N.A.T. and K.A.T.," He gestures to them and the human stands now too, smiling still. K.A.T. smiles warmly but N.A.T. turns their head away, letting their hair float around their shoulders.

"Gnat and cat, cool. Bugs and animals," The human holds their hand out and N.A.T. hisses at it. Alfred jerks away, pouting slightly.

"Are you sure she's not the cat?" They ask making Ivan smile. He finds his scanner in the hay, pulling out the proper files to show Alfred what he means.

"Not animal, robot. K.A.T." On the screen is the ship in the corner, a small part of it highlighted in black near the frontal controls. Enlarged on the screen is the A.I. main base and next to it is a picture of K.A.T.'s face. Rounder than most and all four eyes open with an inviting smile.

"What does K-A-T stand for?" Alfred points to the lettering and Ivan hums.

"Keplitive Axial Transportation, star exploration vehicle." Ivan explains walking to the barn door. He feels huddled as the others follow after him. He glances over his shoulder at them, taking in the different expressions each one carries. He continues on anyway, bringing up a new diagram of N.A.T. on the screen.

"N.A.T. stands for Neplitive Automatic Technician," He hands the scanner to the human, watching as they hold it close to their chest to not drop it, eyes roaming over the screen with intense curiosity. Ivan pauses in his walk back to the ship, turning his head to a contraption next to the barn that hadn't been there the night before.

"What is that?" He asks pointing to the odd looking ship.

"Huh?" Alfred blinks up at him, then makes a quick 'oh' noise once they see where Ivan is pointing.

"I didn't know if it would help or not?" The human hands back the scanner, walking to the object. Ivan follows this time, his own curiosity coming through.

"What is it?" He asks, tapping a finger to the metal exterior. Alfred laughs.

"It's a truck," They explain with their arms open wide. Ivan blinks at them and he hears N.A.T. scoff.

"Pathetic," The robot says. Ivan smiles at the thought.

"What does it stand for?" He stands up straight, waiting for an answer. Alfred shrinks, furrowing their brows behind the clear object on their face, something he knows human's wear to correct vision. Ivan tilts his head as Alfred thinks. Suddenly the human raises their head with an accomplished smile.

"Technicians really underestimate crazy kids. I was wondering if your ship would fit in the back so we can move it here?" Alfred nods at the back of the contraption. Ivan shakes his head, the acronym not fully registering in his head. He walks to the tail end, carefully angling his scanner to collect data on the.. truck.

He taps the back end, wondering if it could fit the ship. It would make transporting it easier. He holds up his scanner, to gauge to the size difference. He smiles when he sees the ship could fit on the back end, if only barely.

"It could," He says and the human lets out a happy noise, pulling out a small silver object. They open one of the doors to the vehicle and hops in. They smile at Ivan from the interior. Ivan tilts his head to the side, especially when Alfred laughs at him.

"Get in!" The human practically shouts. Ivan jerks and climbs in the back, hoisting up his robots as he does so. He holds onto K.A.T.'s robotic hand so she doesn't fall off. The little bots make startled chirping noises when the vehicle rumbles into action. Ivan grips the side of it tightly when it starts to move. The air flutters against his hair and he's stuck staring as the trees move around him. It's almost like flying his ship, but not quite. This is open. Exposed.

When they get to where the ship is, after getting a little lost since Alfred couldn't remember or see, Ivan's scanner lead him to where they kept it hidden, K.A.T. is the first to it, slipping inside somehow and turning the invisibility half off at Ivan's request.

"This way if seen, not so knowing," He says to Alfred when they question why. The human makes another 'oh' noise and nods their head. Ivan walks to the ship, placing a hand on it and K.A.T. appears on the front shield.

"Give it some energy to make lifting it easier," He commands. K.A.T. nods their head and disappears and the ship hums in life. N.A.T. is near the damaged side, their hair shifting around them and coating their hands, making them bigger and flatter to be able to hold more of the ship up. Ivan goes to a different part, raising an eyebrow when Alfred takes a spot near him. The human smiles and Ivan tilts his head.

"On three?" Alfred asks and Ivan still can't get over the idea of the human so willing to help.

"Three," N.A.T. calls loudly. Ivan jolts out of his trance and heaves up the ship, easier with help. They walk to the back of the truck, taking small instructions from the little bots at their feet, telling them when a tangled branch is in their way. The hardest part is getting the ship high enough to sit in the back of the truck. N.A.T. manages though, grunting slightly and expanding the metal over their hands.

Alfred walks up to them after it's settled on the truck, their eyes wide and excited. N.A.T. shies away from the look.

"That's so cool!" Alfred muses in their face. N.A.T. groans softly in annoyance much to Ivan's amusement.

"Thank," Is what his technicians says. Alfred laughs loudly and goes to the front of the truck. The little bots are safely inside the ship with K.A.T.'s mainframe as well. N.A.T. takes a spot on the back of the truck, holding onto the ship and the truck to maybe hold it in place just in case some risky turn is made. Ivan swallows any concern and sits in the spot next to Alfred in the front frame of the vehicle.

"So where are you from?" Alfred glances to him when they start to move away from the landing site. Ivan plays with his fingers, his scanner in his lap.

"Planet called Explitive. Star system 12," Ivan closes his eyes to listen to the sounds of the trees rustling by and the wind blowing in his hearing holes. It's silent as the human says nothing.

"What star system is Earth in?" Ivan smiles at the question not fully knowing why he does.

"54," He tells Alfred. He opens his eyes, watching as the trees pass him, his gills frilling up in the oxygen they receive.

"How long did it take you to get here?" Alfred maneuvers around a tree in his path. Ivan taps his fingers to his scanner, bringing up the log dates.

"According to your time scale, one year and four months," He clicks a few of his written logs, skimming through them and smiling to himself at the childish language of boredom he talks about.

"What's your time scale?" Alfred stops in front of the barn, pulling out the small silver piece from the truck, shutting down the machine. Ivan scrunches up his brows to the thought, getting out of the strange ship. He makes the calculation in his head as they move the ship into the barn. N.A.T. starts working on the wing as soon as there is access. The little bots are staying out of the way, not after the technician clawed at T. for being too close.

"Slower than yours. For every one of your years, it's nearly eight months for me." Ivan messes with his scanner, typing out a new log for himself to keep his sanity in check. Alfred rocks back and forth on their feet in front of him.

"So how old are you?" Ivan raises an eyebrow to the question but does not spare a glance at the human.

"In your terms, around twenty... six? If my math is accurate." Ivan brings up the main scanner, walking over to his ship's damaged wing, scanning the mess for N.A.T. to see the issues specifically.

"I'm 22, still in college, did you go to school?" Ivan stops and looks up, registering the age and the term used. College, if he recalls correctly, is a human education system. He hums in thought.

"Considering, this is like a final test for me," He brings up the readings and shows them to his technician. N.A.T. makes an annoyed clicking noise, turning their eyes back to the repairs.

"Final test? What do you have to do?" Ivan shuffles away from the damaged side to the entrance where the little bots are inside with K.A.T. checking electronic systems from the mainframe. Ivan glances over his shoulder at Alfred following him. He stares at the human, them seeming unaware of the insistent questions they are asking. He faces them, putting his scanner down.

"Why do you ask so much?" Ivan tilts his head to the side. The human sputters out a laugh smiling up at him.

"Because you're an alien and you come from a totally different place than me. This is so cool!" The human steps closer, throwing their hands up, making Ivan lean back to not be hit. Alfred laughs again.

"So why are you here?" Ivan looks away from them, not wanting to see the bright smile directed his way. He sees his little robots running in circles in the ship, all screeching when they run into each other and fall down.

"I have a mission," Ivan hoists himself up into the ship, carefully lifting one of his little bots up and settling them back on their wheels.

"Whaaat missions is that?" Ivan hums, glancing back at the human leaning on their elbows on the edge of his ship. He goes the frontal controls, pressing a few buttons and pulling up the full missions log.

"I'm to collect data on Earth's elemental systems." Ivan gestures to the blocks on the screen detailing what his own people have gathered before hand.

"Is that the periodic table?" Ivan narrows his eyes, then jerks back when he looks at Alfred, now fully on his ship and standing next to him. He blinks wide eyed at the human way in his space. Alfred is staring at the screen with wide eyes.

"That's totally the periodic table," Alfred puts a hand to their face and laughs. Ivan is not sure why. The elements Alfred has on their planet are different than the ones he has on his. Ivan scowls at the ground. He didn't really want this human in all of his business, a little late for that. Alfred has that kind of innocence that makes him feel open, kind of like K.A.T. Maybe this human can be of use to him. Alfred does have better knowledge of where they live than-

"WHOA," Ivan flinches to the sudden loudness, opening all of his eyes in the shock. Alfred is in his face, but they are not looking at his face. He clasps his hands around his neck tightly to stop Alfred's prying eyes.

"Why do you have gills?!" Alfred's eyes are wide as saucers that somehow get wider when they look to his face. Ivan shuts his sensitive eyes quickly, angling his body to hide it from the human before they can ask anything else about him. The momentary oogling has his lesser heart pounding, at the closeness or the questions he's not sure. He gains the courage to turn and put his hand's on Alfred's shoulders to push them back to give himself some room.

"So I can breathe?" Ivan doesn't get the question, squeaking as he answers. Alfred doesn't seem to get the answer either. They open their mouth as if to say something then stop looking to the ground. It's awkwardly silent between them as they shuffle their feet.

"Do you have lungs?" Sighing, Ivan turns back to his main panel, barely taking an earth second to debate his actions before pulling up his own self scan. It'll be easier to show the curious human over telling them. Plus they won't be staring right at him this way. Ivan steps back and watches as Alfred looks at the x-ray. He tilts his head to the side, slightly enjoying the willingness to know about him after the initial invasion to space.

"Why do you want to know so much?" Ivan asks quietly. Alfred takes a moment, dragging their eyes away from the screen. He knows they already asked why but it seems ridiculous for Alfred to care, if they really do.

"How did you find us in the trees?" Ivan plays with the hem of his shirt, not having gone through a cleaning yet, worried his ship wouldn't be able to handle the energy.

"I was watching through my telescope and-"

"Telescope?" Ivan's head snaps up, suddenly very nervous. Alfred looks down sheepishly and Ivan strides forward. He taps at the panel, checking the telescopes surrounding earth in their outer solar panels. He runs through their video feeds, going far as to triple check them, wondering how on earth Alfred saw them. If other human's saw them they are in much more trouble than he thought. His mission might be compromised before it even really begins.

"Not one of those," Alfred whispers to him. Ivan freezes.

"It's my own one, really small. I was bored looking at the sky," Alfred steps into his peripheral vision, a sheepish expression on their face. Slowly Ivan remembers to breathe.

"Do you look at the sky often?" He faces the human and they nod, smiling mostly to themselves.

"I've always liked space. It's really interesting. I've always believed in Aliens and.." Alfred trails off now smiling up at him. Ivan blinks down at them and slowly a smile of his own spreads across his face.

"Perhaps you could help me?" Ivan asks them and for some reason, he doesn't think he'll ever get tired of seeing the human's face light up.


	3. Log 13 - The human is something else

For the past three human weeks Ivan spent wandering around the barn area carefully. His scanner in his hands and his little robots by his feet. He's been working on the first part of his mission, basic gathering. His little bots have been running about, scouting as well as bringing him back random little rocks and to scan just in case they are something important. They aren't but it doesn't stop Ivan from smiling at their attempts.

He has few elements bottled up, but not as many as he would like. His ship is still not in good condition to haul samples or even fly properly. According to N.A.T. there is a lot more little technical damage that will need specific repairs and will take longer. Ivan groaned at that answer but there is nothing he could do for the moment.

Ivan opens his eyes to the very early morning. It's nearly still dark outside, the sun barely rising. He dragged some of the hay into his ship to line his sleeping area making it more comfy than he anticipated. He rubs at his lesser eyes, waiting for them to adjust to the darkness, closing his sensitive ones once able. He pauses at the door when he hears something odd.

"Hold still little guy I'm almost done," He hears Alfred laugh, softer than he thought possible. The human is always loud. Alfred has been a constant, showing up everyday and asking him questions, trying to see if they can help with the repairs, a no from N.A.T., or even with the ship things, a no from K.A.T. so Alfred spent their time following Ivan around and asking about his planet. The questions aren't necessarily annoying, but there are a lot of them. Ivan knows very little about his human host.

He peeks out of the doorway to see what is going on. Alfred is a few steps away, sitting sideways with the little bots surrounding them. The littlest bot R. is in front of the Earthling, shaking slightly as it usually does. The back panel on it's head is open and a few wires are sticking out. Alfred has a metal stick in their mouth and a few other random scattered tools around them.

"Just a few more things buddy," Alfred reassures, their words slightly slurred with the object between their teeth. R. makes a nervous clicking noise.

"Will it work?" T.'s robotic voice asks as quietly as it can. Alfred smiles at the bot quickly.

"Let's hope so." Ivan watches the human work, their fingers twisting carefully inside R.'s head. He's not sure how long Alfred has been working, and he's not sure how long he watches, but too soon it seems Alfred is closing up R.'s head with a hopeful nod of their head.

"Let's see if that works yeah?" They ask the bot and R. looks up at them. Ivan tilts his head to the side when they all start cheering softly. Alfred pats the bot affectionately and Ivan approaches.

"What did you do?" Alfred smiles up at him then back down to R. who is looking happier.

"Notice anything..?" Alfred nudges him playfully. Ivan nearly glares at R. trying to figure out what is new. E. and T. hug the other happily.

"No more shake!" They say. Ivan can feel a smile stretch across his face. He kneels down to place a gentle hand on R.'s head.

"Very good little one," He says. R. chirps happily, then the three robots take off outside to scout the area as is their job. Ivan looks up to Alfred who is smiling fondly at where they made their exit. Ivan grabs one of their hands gently.

"How did you do that?" Alfred snaps their eyes down, a new coloration coming to their cheeks. They laugh awkwardly and begin picking up the small tools they used.

"I do some computer technical stuff in school, it's what I'm getting a degree in. Had to build a robot for a project," They says simply. Ivan squeezes their hand to keep them from getting up.

"No work today, only questions about you," Ivan tells Alfred. For a moment longer than he's ever seen the human is speechless. Alfred snickers softly and drops from his knees to sit comfortably.

"What you want to know about me?" They ask and Ivan is thankful for the opportunity. He moves to sit as well with his legs underneath him, still holding gently to Alfred's hand though the human does not seem to mind.

"First, what gender would you say you are?" To say Ivan has been wondering is a little bit of an understatement. People on his planet have many genders, he didn't want to make an accidental guess at Alfred's.

"I'm a boy," Alfred shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. "What are you? Just so I know." Ivan hums at the question, not really figuring Alfred would have to wonder.

"I am a male by your terms," He says. Alfred nods his head,, now eyeing their hands together. Ivan is not so sure what is wrong with it. Alfred always invaded his personal space. He figures doing something like this would be more acceptable on Earth.

"You're really warm," Alfred says. Ivan giggles shortly at the statement.

"I am actually very cold. Your planet is cold." Ivan narrows his eyes to Alfred laughing when the human perks up.

"That's reminds me!" Alfred twists around, pulling his hand free of Ivan's causing the other to look down at his hand dumbly. Of course he knew he held the human's hand, but it didn't feel this empty when he wasn't before. His confusion increases when Alfred hands him a cloth bundle.

"To cover your gills," Alfred smiles and unfolds the item. Ivan sits perfectly still as the human wraps it around his neck, his gills shuddering at the new warmth provided to them. Ivan runs his hands over the object, playing with the ends of it with a small smile on his face.

"Thank you," He says. Alfred laughs and stands, holding out his hand for Ivan to take.

"Come on let's walk around a little bit, getting tired of sitting," The human sticks his tongue out for effect. Ivan takes his hand happily. Alfred pulls him partially up and they walk outside the barn. The sun is coming up now for sure. The little bots are whizzing around, every so often bumping into each other. Alfred leads Ivan away from them all and into the trees.

"So you have a family?" Ivan asks. Alfred nods his head, carefully walking around a fallen tree branch with Ivan right behind him.

"Yeah my brother and mom and dad." Ivan drags his fingers over a the trunks of the trees, admiring the roughness beneath his fingers. Alfred pops out from one side, partially hiding behind it.

"What about you?" His blue eyes are warm and inviting. Ivan smiles at him with a a small hum.

"No family, just others," He informs. Alfred makes an upset face but does not question farther. For that Ivan is thankful. His planet is run on DNA and knowledge, producing offspring in chambers. Every generation getting stronger and smarter than the last.

"What's your favorite color?" Ivan has to stare the human for a second at the new question. Alfred stares back then nudges him.

"Come on, what color do you like the most," He clarifies. Ivan furrows his brows, the misunderstanding now clarified.

"I like sky colors, blue and black mostly," He says, hoping his answer will suffice. Alfred nods his head so Ivan hopes it works.

"Why do you want to help my mission?" Ivan steps purposefully on a branch, listening to the way it snaps under his boot. Alfred sniffs and rubs at his nose.

"How cool would it be to say I helped an alien do something?"

"What if take you back to my home to dissect you?" Ivan looks up at the human, his jaw now dropped in disbelief. Alfred puts a hand to his chest and gasps like he's been wounded somehow.

"Rude!" He shouts. Ivan giggles at the answer, taking subtle note at the distance Alfred now has between them.

"I will not harm friends," Ivan drops down to runs his finger's through the grass. Alfred kneels down next to him.

"You consider me a friend?" Alfred's tone makes Ivan's lesser heart pound. He glances at the human with their bright blue eyes. He smiles at them.

"You help me with no expectation of anything in return. That makes you friend in my rules," Ivan giggles and then flops to his back to see the sky. There are no clouds. Alfred drops too, putting his head next to Ivan's.

"How many stars are there?"

"Too many for your numeric system to count," Ivan replies quickly. Alfred bursts out laughing and for what Ivan isn't sure but he's a little happy he could make the human laugh so.


	4. Log 19 - Emotions are complex concepts

It becomes startling clear to Ivan why the other's back home decided that what the human's have deemed emotions useless and invaluable. They are confusing, tricky and utterly distracting from his mission. They serve no other purpose than to create more problems than they are worth. Ivan knows this to be true when he catches Alfred smiling at him again and the ever annoying heat rises to his cheeks at the sight. He shakes his head and backs away from his control panel.

"Hey you okay?" Alfred asks him suddenly, invading his personal space in a way that makes him take another step back. He can feel his lesser heart pounding in his chest. He shakes his head again and holds up one of his hands to hopefully stop Alfred from asking more questions.

"Yes, fine, just," He closes his less sensitive eyes tight, trying to not get light headed. It's been a few months on Earth's atmosphere but certain things still get to him and make his biological systems funky for a few minutes. At least that's what he tells himself whenever he feels odd with Alfred around. The human pouts at his lack of answer.

"You've been working too hard! Let's do something else!" Alfred gestures at his control panel and the samples he has collected. Nearly 2/3 of the elements have been collected. Ivan glares at the board. He wished to have more, if not all, at this point in his trip, but sadly with the repairs and the human insisting on these 'breaks', he has not gotten as far. His robots tug at his pant legs, pushing him slightly in agreement. He sighs. They get to explore when he does indulge in Alfred's pleas.

"Where?" He knows by asking he is agreeing. Alfred gets excited, bouncing on his heels and grabbing Ivan's hand carelessly. He jerks at the contact, still somehow not used to it though Alfred has lack of care.

"Someplace new! And hopefully warm!" Alfred flashes him one of those megawatt smiles and his cheeks heat up at the sight. He hides his face in the scarf Alfred bought for him, waving slightly to N.A.T. and K.A.T as he's dragged away. This isn't the first time Alfred has distracted him and he hopes it won't be the last. He and Alfred peek around trees and corners, R.E.T. trying to help but mostly getting tangled in leaves. Alfred laughs at their antics and Ivan finds himself staring at the human.

If Alfred isn't dragging him somewhere away from his hiding spot, he's helping out, trying to talk to N.A.T. about something logical or running with the bots to find rocks and things that could help the mission. They don't, but Ivan finds himself being warmed at the thought anyway.

He swallows his uneasiness as Alfred grabs his hand once more and tugs him along. He stares at their linked fingers, only too aware of why the other's back home have denied any sort of emotion on the planet. Only in his ignorance, Ivan is curious. He wants to know why, what these emotions are, why the people of this planet let them run free, and why he feels something wild when Alfred speaks so kindly to him.

"Where are we going?" He asks suddenly, gripping Alfred's fingers to get his attention. The human turns on him quickly, stopping Ivan just a few inches from him, a new kind of warmth rising in him.

"Surprise," Alfred whispers to him with a child like glee in his eyes. Ivan can only nod and follow along with a dreamy like look on his face. He can vaguely hear the metalic sound of the robots laughing behind him. Instead of the panic his lesser heart is in, Ivan focuses on the warmth of Alfred's fingers next to his. Such a simple act and yet it feels more special like this.

Alfred stops soon after, pointing out into an open lake of water. The smile on his face is bright, waiting for a reaction from Ivan. He can only stare at the way the sun here makes the water sparkle. His more sensitive eyes almost shoot open, wanting to take in the entire picture. Part of him wishes he has his third lung working because a sight like this takes his breath away.

"It is.." He can't find the proper words. His robots are whirring beside him. He blinks hard at the water escaping his lesser eyes, he rubs at them hazardously to get rid of the liquid falling but it's hard. He feels overwhelmed with.. something. Alfred is fretting instantly at seeing him get so worked up but Ivan waves him off with a light laugh.

"It is okay Fredka, I am just.." He bites his lip trying to find the right word. He sighs and smiles at the human.

"Happy," He finishes and Alfred breathe a sigh of relief. Ivan laughs to himself only to have his throat close up at Alfred taking off his shirt.

"What are you doing?" He asks quickly backing into a tree behind him and covering his eyes, not wanting to see Alfred indecently. Alfred sputters out a giggle at him enticing Ivan to look through his fingers at the sun kissed skin of the human.

"Can't go swimming in clothes dude," Alfred says and continues to removing his body coverings. Ivan shuts his eyes firmly until he hears the water being rippled. He peeks again to find Alfred covered up to his chest in the water, smiling at Ivan and then waving his hand to signal to join him.

"Is it safe?" Ivan crouches low to the ground, feeling the water with his fingers. It's not overly cold, almost a pleasant warm. Alfred splashes the water getting Ivan's sleeve soaked. He 'eeps' and backs away, blinking wide eyed at Alfred trying to hard to not outright laugh at him.

"Come on it's safe, I promise," Alfred says and Ivan nods his head, believing in those words completely with a blind kind of trust pushing him on. He turns his back and gently removes his body coverings, glancing over at Alfred every so often when it comes closer to him actually undressing. Alfred rolls his eyes and turns his back to him, respecting his not so subtle silent asking to not be watched. He uneasily removes the rest of his clothes, smiling ever so slightly at seeing his robots covering their seeing sensors.

He taps his toe into the water, shuddering at the temperature. Breathing has become hard at the new experience. They have water on his planet, but not in abundance like this, not for this purpose. He takes another step into the water, the color making his skin seem more purple than the light lilac color it really is.

"Come on!" Alfred cheers for him, still turned around out of respect. Ivan can't help the soft wine that escapes him and walks farther in. His toes morph just slightly, giving him a more webbed footing to help his water antics. He shivers when it reaches higher, not used to such a feeling. When Alfred senses him close enough he turns around.

"See I knew you could do it!" The human says happily. Ivan wraps his arms around himself. Earth's temperature cold to him. Alfred twits his nose up and then comes closer making Ivan freeze completely.

"Move around, it'll warm you up," Alfred explains and takes one of his hands gently to pull him farther into the lake. Ivan swims next to the human, exhilaration flooding through him at the new sensation. There are so many new sounds and feelings on Earth and they are going to be worthwhile to miss when he has to go back home. A sudden pang of sadness hits him at the thought of going home. He doesn't want to leave yet, and he can feel it that when it comes time, he might not want to leave at all.

His sad thoughts are interrupted when a wave of water hits his head. His gills shudder, knowing what to do but not knowing fully how. They are used to the vaccum of space to filter in air not this water the Earth has. He blinks up at Alfred who is trying his best to look like he didn't do anything. Ivan smirks at splashes back at him. He's not sure what kind of game it is, but trying to get the human wet provides to be fun, making him laugh and distracting him from his negative thoughts. He gets close enough for Alfred to latch onto him, sputtering just a little at losing his swimming rhythm.

"Are you alright?" Ivan asks quickly, not wanting his human to be hurt. Alfred coughs and nods his head a new smile on his face. Ivan sighs then his face properly heats up at the close proximity. He's not sure what to do so he keeps hold of Alfred. The human laughs at his face and almost pulls away but Ivan doesn't let go.

"Fredka," He says, wincing to himself at the accidental use of Alfred's name in a way that signifies something more. Luckily the human doesn't know this but it doesn't help his position.

"Can you tell me about emotions?" Ivan blinks at him curiously and Alfred twists up his nose in thought. The human makes little thinking noises as he shifts to wrap his arms more comfortably around Ivan's shoulders, their legs bumping every so often underneath the water to keep them both afloat.

"They're pretty cool? Things that you feel deep inside you and can sometimes explain? I don't know words are hard," Alfred laughs gently. Ivan scrunches up his nose.

"Can you tell me about love?" He tilts his head to the side when Alfred's face puffs up in a shade of pink. Despite the pain it may cause, his sensitive eyes open to see the true picture of Alfred's face.

"Wha- well, I mean- you," Alfred fumbles over his words. Ivan shifts to hold Alfred differently, wrapping an arm more snuggly around the human swishing them back close to shore so they don't have to exert as much energy. He finds a spot where they can stand easily but still have most of their bodies covered by water.

"Well there are different kinds?" Alfred offers eventually. Ivan keeps tight hold of him, blinking down curiously at the human as he tries to make sense. He can feel the human moving their hands behind his neck, rubbing every so slightly against his gills as he works on making proper sentences.

"Like love for family, and then love for friends and then love for-" Alfred turns his head up suddenly, putting them nose to nose. Ivan goes wide eyed at the startled expression on the human's face. He feels uneasy at being so close to Alfred like this, but excited by it too. He doesn't want to move from this spot, but Alfred does, just not in a way that he expects.

It's something entirely new when the human pushes his lips up to meet his. Ivan inhales sharply at the act, not moving an inch. His lesser heart has lost all control and is beating without rhyme or reason. Alfred pulls back suddenly at feeling him freeze up, waving his hands back and forth to begin to apologize. Ivan hears none of it though, his mind stuck on the new feeling. He gains control of his thoughts soon, gently raising his hands to hold Alfred's face between them, silencing the human rather well. Slowly and experimentally Ivan touches their lips together again, something never heard of before on his planet but a sensation he doesn't dislike. He pulls back gently, keeping close to the human, not bothered by the cold anymore.

"What was that?" He asks in a whisper. Alfred makes a small pouting noise, moving a hand to place it over Ivan's on his cheek.

"It's.. It's called kissing," He mumbles out embarrassed. Ivan narrows his eyes at the word, not really knowing it. He places his lips on Alfred's once more quickly.

"That?" He asks breathlessly. Alfred nods. At the positive reaction Ivan does it again.

"What does it mean?" His voice is husky from feelings curling up inside him. Alfred shrugs non nonchalant but his face is red.

"That you like someone, mostly," He peeks up at Ivan hopefully. The alien stares down at the human, processing the words he says.

"Is it okay?" Ivan moves his hands from Alfred's face to his back, pulling him closer and pressing them together. Alfred nods his head quickly and Ivan captures his lips one more time, that turns into a few more times. His breath comes out in short bursts between the 'kisses', Alfred only too eager to give more. He jumps a little to get closer to Ivan causing them to slip. Ivan sputter a little, his gills functioning in the water now being used to it. He breathes easily, laughing lightly at Alfred with his cheeks puffed up. The human sticks his tongue out and makes to go to the surface when Ivan grabs his hand to jerk him down.

Alfred makes a bubbled noise, but Ivan silences him with a kiss, giving him air through the contact. They float back to the top, popping above the water with a pouty human. Alfred splashes him and Ivan laughs, following him up to the edge of the water. They sit out of the water, back to back to dry off, Ivan suddenly shy at being openly exposed. Alfred isn't bothered by his request. With a few teasing remarks and the sun going down they get dressed. On the walk back to the barn Alfred refuses to let go of his hand.

"Alfred!" They both jerk at the call of the human's name. Alfred whispers out an swear, kissing Ivan quickly one more time and running off. Ivan watches him disappear through the trees. The little robots buzz and chirp at his feet, pushing him back towards the barn. He enters the clearing, seeing N.A.T. leaning casually against the barn door.

"Feelings?" The technician questions darkly when he gets closer. Ivan hides his face in his scarf. Now knowing what it is, he can't deny them. He nods his head and the robot rolls their eyes.

"Mission," they say coldly and walk into the barn. Ivan winces at the comment. He knows the mission comes first, that he should be paying more attention to his duty. He glances over to the direction he knows Alfred ran off in. He's not sure how much longer his mission will be the only thing keeping him on earth.


	5. Log 22 - I don't want to leave him

Ivan taps at his control panel easily, typing out a journal log and a status update report on his mission. He's only missing four elements now and N.A.T.'s repairs on the ship are nearly complete, working on only minor rebuilding to put the ship all back together. She had time to stop and work with K.A.T. on finding the proper setting to house the elements in the proper temperature when they do eventually leave.

Ivan's throat feels tight and not for lack of air this time. He hasn't brought up leaving with Alfred yet and the thought is plaguing him. He has to return. The general of his planet is expecting him too with this new information. He can't just never return. The people of his plant might think something happened to him or that he's been brainwashed, possibly causing a war between the two planets. That would be horrendous.

He closes all his eyes tight and open the lesser ones to Alfred at the barn door. His lesser heart pounds and he almost goes to the human in a welcome distraction but Alfred approaches N.A.T., getting the technician's attention before Ivan has a chance to leave the ship. He stares through the front shield, watching as Alfred slowly approaches N.A.T. He pushes a few buttons silently, trying to pick up on their conversation as much as he can.

"It could work?" Alfred offers up a sheepish smile on his face. N.A.T. glares hard at him then huffs, taking a seat on a metal piece they pulled off earlier. Alfred comes just a slight bit closer, dropping a small container of tools at his feet. He gazes at the minimal wires exposed on the front of their head.

"There's got to be something missing," He mutters out, bending down to look under the robots mouth area. Ivan tilts his head too, trying to see what the human might be looking for. Alfred sighs and stands, putting his hands on his hips dramatically.

"Is there a way I can see inside there or-" His words are cut off when N.A.T. reaches their hands up and clicks a button under their chin, splitting their face in two and pulling them apart. Alfred has to take a deep breath before continuing with slightly shaky hands.

"I'm looking for a missing wire, or a frayed one," He says aloud, either for his own nerves or N.A.T.'s' Ivan isn't too sure. The human leans closer, kneeling down and tilting N.A.T.'s head this way and that to try and see better. He reaches a hand in and feels around, earning him a soft hiss from the robot.

"Invasive," It mutters and Alfred grimaces.

"I'm sorry," He says but doesn't stop prying. N.A.T. doesn't stop him. The human shuffles on the ground to the back, gently pushing the liquid metal hair out of his way. N.A.T. moves suddenly, piling the hair like attachments on the top of their head and tying it up with a spare wire piece. Then the back of their head splits just like the front, letting the parts be expose for Alfred to see better.

"Thank you," Alfred says. N.A.T. says nothing. The human takes a tool from their case and uses it to help move wires around.

"There has to be something connected to your mouth and intelligence function," He mutters. Ivan represses his urge to sigh too loudly. None on his planet have been able to figure out what is technically 'wrong' with his technician, let alone get close enough for N.A.T. to trust them. Ivan doesn't particularly think they need fixing. Alfred hasn't given up though after half an hour of searching and now, Ivan is almost rooting for him to be able to see something the people of his planet couldn't even with only two eyes.

Alfred shifts and N.A.T. shifts with him, sitting up a bit more and moving another panel on their head to let the human in deeper. Alfred stops dramatically and gets another tool, moving more wires out of his way before bouncing in his spot.

"There's an open slot here buried underneath all the others," He puts a little tag in N.A.T.'s head to mark the spot then moves back to the front. He bends awkwardly fiddling his fingers underneath the mouth area. Ivan is dumbstruck.

"There are none near here though, maybe it doesn't connect here?" While talking Alfred moves back to the back of N.A.T.'s head. He prods a little more, then squeaks.

"These wires all have a second attached to it, so you're missing two wires?" He says incredulously, nearly just talking to himself aloud. N.A.T. hums at his words.

"Fixable?" They ask almost hopeful. Alfred makes a thinking noise, then scratches at his head.

"If I have the right things, and find the right spots, maybe?" He offers a reassuring smile though at this point with their face split, N.A.T. can't see it. Alfred scoots his container closer and Ivan has completely forgotten his task.

"So this wire here connects here," Alfred makes a small motion, tapping at the open hole in NAT's head The robot nods and Alfred nearly drops his stuff at the action.

"Okay I'm going to take your hand and place it on my knee, two taps yes, one tap no, because if you move while I'm doing something, electrocution or short circuiting might happen." Alfred takes N.A.T.'s hand and Ivan thinks his technician might stab the human. Instead N.A.T. lets the motion happen, tapping twice in understanding.

"Cool," Alfred says and continues on. He bites his lip as he wiggles a wire inside the robot's head. N.A.T.'s hand twitches a few times but no sudden jerks thankfully.

"So that wire goes there, but where does it attach?" The human twists his head about, nearly turning upside down to see different areas. He moves to the front and moves his fingers atop N.A.T.'s exposed head wires.

"Do you hate me?" Alfred asks suddenly. N.A.T. taps his leg once and Ivan releases a breath of air he didn't know he held at that question. Alfred smiles happily.

"I don't hate you either, I don't think you care, but I don't. You're pretty cool even when you try to kill me sometimes." Alfred bends down and looks at something new. Then kneels down to reach into N.A.T.'s head and grab the unattached wire.

"Gunna attach it to this open area up top, there are other double wires, and I think this is where it goes. It's easy to miss because most of the wires take up all the spaces, but they are twisted together." Alfred takes a deep breath and pulls out a new wires, making N.A.T. jerk fully.

"I'm putting it back, that was your whole speech I think. Are you okay?" The human asks frantically, twisting wires together as N.A.T. taps his leg repeatedly over and over. He whimpers and puts the wires back with a click. N.A.T. jerks again and stops tapping. Alfred grimaces as the robot puts their head back together, letting down the floating metal hair.

"Oh crap are you okay?" Alfred covers his face, peeking through his fingers and Ivan stands frozen as N.A.T. opens and closes their mouth a few times, making sure their jaw is set together. Ivan panics as they don't speak right away.

"Did it work? I mean, is it all- are you- how do you feel?" Alfred stutters, fidgeting more and more. N.A.T. holds up a hand to him and stands from their seat. Ivan swallows, wondering exactly what Alfred tried to do.

"Liberating," They say gently. Alfred stops freaking, then pouts mightly, crossing his arms with a huff.

"All of that and you're not going to-"

"I did not ask for this," N.A.T. cuts him off and Ivan's jaw drops. K.A.T. appears on a screen next to him, ready to ask him a question but upon taking in his expression doesn't speak. Instead, turns to see what Ivan is gawking at. N.A.T. rubs their spindly arms awkwardly, looking down and away from Alfred though the human perks up.

"And yet you helped me anyway, thank you," And with as many words in a row N.A.T. has ever spoke, the technician returns to working on putting the wing of the ship back together to get it ready to fly again. Alfred smiles proudly to himself, bending down to pick up his small chest of tools and hugs it to him. Ivan runs out of the ship and follows the human out of the barn.

"How did you do that?" He inquires, grabbing Alfred by the wrist to keep him still Alfred rounds on him, blinking his eyes up at him. He then laughs softly.

"I just kind of guessed to be honest," He shrugs awkwardly. Ivan stares at him incredulously.

"The wires missing weren't part of the main system I guess, so scanners didn't pick up on anything being wrong," Alfred shrugs again at his explanation. It makes enough sense. The human tangles their fingers together and pulls Ivan ever so slightly towards the trees. They walk hand in hand together, not saying a word. Ivan's thoughts are racing in different directions. He's lost for one of the first times.

His home planet has always been strict with rules, orderly, not really caring for mistakes. They could tolerate some in the guise of curiosity. His being on earth and meeting Alfred had been a fluke to begin with. If he had just been a little more careful he could have avoided being spotted or crashing at all. Such a thing, such a person messes with his mind so much.

He barely realizes Alfred stopping in front of him. He registers connecting eyes with the human when Alfred bounces to his toes to kiss him. It feels just as nice as the first times. Alfred pulls back with a smile on his face and the emotions within him start to bubble over. Ivan feels tears in his eyes without his consent.

"Sorry, sorry," He mutters out, trying to calm down Alfred's fretting over him at the sudden outburst. He holds the human's hands tight, placing their foreheads together. Ivan swallows down his emotions to try and speak properly.

"I will have to go home eventually," He whispers. Alfred whines at his words, expecting them to an extent but not really happy they came at all. Ivan sniffles again and his gills shudder at trying to get him the appropriate amount of oxygen.

"Do you really have to?" Alfred asks him, wiggling into his space more for a hug. Ivan returns the embrace as well as he can.

"Yes."

"When?" Ivan grits his teeth and the way the human sounds when they ask. Broken and fearful.

"A week or two," Ivan confesses and Alfred rubs at his face, his own tears slipping through. He throws his arms around Ivan's shoulders and hides his face in his neck. Ivan closes his eyes tight to not let any more tears fall, the emotions exhausting him completely. He holds his human close, trying to commit the way he feels to memory.

They stay in the wood for as long as they can. E. comes barreling to them in the evening, telling Ivan to come back and they need him. It's a slow walk, one they both make drag back to the barn. Alfred knows he has to go home, giving Ivan one of those lingering kisses before walking backwards and away.

"That's going to hurt," Ivan jumps at the words coming from N.A.T. His technician raises an metallic eyebrow at him and enters the barn in a cold way. Ivan rubs at his arms and goes to follow. Inside his ship once more he finds all the systems running perfectly and functional. The last thing he has to do is find the last elements, and then he's to go home.

* * *

 **AN:** Thank you to SuperLeaf and PK4427 for reviewing~


	6. Log 25 - It hurts

They pull the ship out into the open, K.A.T. scanning the skies and outer rim of earth's atmosphere for any telescopes in their path. She finds a spot later in the night that would work perfect for them to take their leave of the human planet. Ivan wrings his hands together over his scarf. While part of him is excited to go home, he knows not all of him will be leaving too.

"Sir," N.A.T. interrupts his desolate moment. Ivan looks to the robot with a neutral face.

"We have to," They say and disappear into the ship. Ivan nods his head though he wishes the mechanic was wrong. The wind blows against him making him cold. He tugs his body coverings closer to try and leech more warmth off them. He hasn't seen Alfred all day, and now that he's going to be leaving with the possibility of not saying goodbye has his lesser heart in knots.

He shakes his head and goes inside the ship, pressing a few buttons and bringing up his mission log, typing out a new entry for his mission update. He tries his hardest to keep his head clear as the sky gets darker and the time of their departure comes closer. Ivan finds his lesser eyes watering once more. N.A.T. says nothing to him as they curl in a ball in the corner and shut down for the trip home, not needing to be awake for the travel. K.A.T. appears in a screen in front of him, the R.E.T. units at his feet.

"Sir, he'll understand," K.A.T. says. Worst part is Ivan believes it. Alfred would understand that he had to leave as soon as possible, to go home and complete what he came to do. It doesn't stop the fact that the idea of leaving without one last time seeing such a smile kills Ivan inside just enough. One of the robots pull at his leg. Ivan turns down to the little R. bot, the one Alfred fixed from shaking.

"I stay?" The robot asks. Ivan blinks down at it, the other two tapping their robotic hands together in agreement. Ivan shakes his head at the request. They make little unhappy chirps at his answer. He can't leave one of them behind, that wouldn't feel right. But so does just leaving Alfred behind. Ivan sighs and pulls out one of the paper pieces that Alfred gave to him. He scrawls a quick note and ties it around the little R. bot. They whir in excitement and jump down from the ship. Ivan watches as it goes to hide in the barn.

"It's time," K.A.T. says gently. Ivan closes his eyes to prepare himself, his lesser heart clenching up in his chest. He presses his palms to his face to not let his sadness hinder his eyesight but this time it is his more sensitive eyes that well up in tears. He wipes them away.

"Okay," He says though everything he feels is far from 'okay'. K.A.T. starts up the ship, it humming to life easily and expertly. Ivan taps buttons on his control panel and pulls the wheel to lift the ship into the air. His lesser heart sinks low, as if trying to stay on earth like Ivan wishes he could. He can't help but keep glancing down at the surface of the planet as he pulls higher and higher away from it, wondering if for just one more moment he can spot Alfred beneath him. Even with his sensitive eyes open, the surface is too far away.

His gills struggle for air and Ivan rushes to his machine, enacting his third lung after so long. He waits there for a minute or two, making sure all his systems are working before exiting and staring into the vast openness of the stars. He rubs at both sets of his eyes again. E. and T. cling to his legs trying to comfort him. He kneels to them and pats their heads with an affectionate smile.

"Thank you," He tells them and they chirp out little noises. Carefully he picks himself up and sets the course for his home planet. His fingers sluggishly press the buttons, wanting with every fiber of his being to return back to the weird planet that started off as just another mission.

"Sir," K.A.T. says for the fifth time, trying to jog him out of his thoughts. Ivan jerks when the robot's voice finally registers in his head. He looks to the screen, finding K.A.T. looking back at him with a look of pity.

"Do emotions hurt?" They ask. Ivan looks to his feet. He knows K.A.T. must have read some of his entries since her mind is connected to everything in the ship. He nods his head softly.

"But it is somewhat worth it," He tries to smile though it feels more like a grimace. K.A.T. nods and disappears from sight. While the automatic transportation can't feel, it can understand, and that's the main goal. Ivan watches the stars go by, wondering if Alfred looks to them now as well. If they can see the same stars. It's all he can think about, all he can do keep himself together on the long trip home.

* * *

K.A.T. wakes him from another uneasy sleep just in time to enter back into his home planet's atmosphere. He's not as happy to see it as he once thought he would be. He lands in the right hanger, pulling at his body coverings before exiting. N.A.T. wakes and walks with him out into the large hanger. Someone is waiting for him.

"Ivanishka," The man says. Ivan bows his head politely to the formal call of his name. The other in front of him is the General, the one who sent him on his mission in the first place. Their talk is only business, discussing the details of his collecting with N.A.T. holding the elements in their thermal homes behind him. They are carted away by another automatic technician to be taken to labs to be tested and studied.

"You are missing one tendant," The General says to him. Ivan hardly bats an eye at the comment.

"It wanted to stay," He tells the General. They raise an eyebrow to him, lifting up their small hand held control panel.

"Did you?" Here Ivan looks away from the other in front of him. He racks his brain for an answer when the General pats his shoulder once then leaves him be. Ivan lets his head drop. T. and E. push at his legs and he finds it in him to get walking. K.A.T. comes to his side in her portable screen form, N.A.T. on his other. They guide him to his home, setting him down on the table provided for rest. Ivan curls in on himself.

He can feel the length of how long it's been since he saw Alfred. There hasn't been a day since he left he didn't think of the human. He has no idea how the other has reacted to his leaving. His lesser heart hurts too much to find out. The tears are slow to come but Ivan can feel the emotions in them all the same.


	7. Log 28 - The new mission

Ivan presses the buttons forcefully, trying once more to get through Earth's systems. He's been trying and trying to get a visual on the planet. N.A.T. has upgraded the programs and cameras three times now. He lets out a whimper and stares at the screen. He doesn't want to give up hope just yet that he might be able to see Alfred.

He taps a few more buttons repeatedly then a small green light comes on. He inhales sharply and takes the chance. Using one of Earth's orbiting satellites, he taps into earth's technology. It takes a few tries to zero in on the right place but when he can see the small barn on his screen he knows he's close. With a few more tweaks he finds the view of Alfred's home. His breathing stills completely at seeing his human in the window of his room, looking through a small telescope, scanning the skies in the dark. He looks older, the time has made him grow, but his eyes have not lost their spark.

"What are you looking for?" A new person enters the screen and Alfred turns to look at them with an unimpressed glare. Ivan leans forward, just as curious to the question. The new person looks like Alfred, but their hair is longer and their eyes different.

"You wouldn't believe me," Alfred says just a little bitterly. The human goes back to looking through the telescope.

"Again with aliens?" The person asks. Alfred scoffs and sticks up one of his fingers at them. The camera barely picks up on soft beeping and the shape of R. appears in the background of Alfred's room.

"Go suck on syrup Mattie," Alfred says. Ivan finds himself smiling at the words shared between the two. His smile feels odd as the human starts to cry. The other human, Mattie sighs and comes closer.

"Alfred come on." Alfred shrugs off their hands and wraps his arms around himself. Ivan can feel his lesser heart breaking at the sight of Alfred looking positively miserable.

"I miss him," Alfred says suddenly, tears leaking out of his eyes. Ivan covers his mouth with his hands.

"I know you don't believe me but he was, I just.. I miss him so much," Alfred whimpers and cries, letting the other human comfort him finally. Ivan stumbles back and falls to his knees as N.A.T. comes in. The technician goes to Ivan and shuts down his screen before he can protest, not that he has much energy to do so. The robot puts a hand on his back, rubbing small circles in an attempt of comfort.

Ivan feels awful, guilt chipping away at his insides. He did that to Alfred, he's the one who put that look at his face. It's all his fault. He should have said a proper goodbye. Hands come up to wipe away tears from all his eyes. He whimpers painfully and N.A.T. stops her motions.

"Someone is coming," They whisper. Ivan tries to make himself presentable as K.A.T. comes in with the General in tow. Ivan tries his best to smile but it hurts inside to keep up the facade. The General raises an eyebrow at him and pulls out his screen.

"You have a new assignment," He says. Ivan twists up his face in confusion. He graduated from his programs, no longer needing to do field work missions. He's capable to do hands on laboratory work, working with the elements he just collected. He begins to protest when the General shows him a strand of DNA on his screen.

"This is a strand of Oxytocin DNA," The General tells him. Ivan steps forward to see the strand closer. It's a bundle of numbers and letters with a highlighted section of a brain next to it.

"We as a species lack the strand's full capacity. You're going to a planet where the strand is fully developed to study it further," The General turns on his heel and leaves, pausing in the doorway to look back at Ivan over his shoulder.

"Your ship will be upgraded for communication, you will not be coming back." Ivan flinches at the words, wondering if this is truly an exile over a mission. K.A.T. and N.A.T. look at him with odd expressions. Ivan sighs and turns to his own panel, finding the mission details already uploading to his systems. He looks over the DNA then makes his way to the hanger and his ship. He has very little to take with him. He doesn't feel the want to leave home anymore. Maybe that's why the General sent him.

Even though he has the ability to do more local work, Ivan has not left his house in the days since he got back. It hasn't been long, but long enough for his people to notice and become restless with his absence though they know he is home. He doesn't want the mission, he doesn't want to do anything.

"Where are we going?" He finally asks when the ship is out of the atmosphere and on it's destination. K.A.T. appears and hums to his question, looking through the files electronically to find the answer.

"Planet 54.4," She says. Ivan narrows his eyes at that. It sounds too familiar in his mind. He goes to his mission details and reads through them again, eyes widening when he finds the bit of information he's been skipping over with his apathy. Oxytocin, a mental chemical, is the prime component to the emotion love, found mainly in the minds of human from Earth.

* * *

It's far too long in his opinion when he sees the planet come into view. He's giddy when K.A.T. announces a safe time to land. He dives head first into the atmosphere, smiling to himself as the world gets closer. K.A.T. has to take over and land the ship in the right spot because Ivan is shaking too hard to do much else. He almost forgets to shut down one of his lungs so he can breathe properly. E. and T. are waving their robotic arms in the air, little beeps coming from them as they try to signal R. electronically. The ships lands and Ivan is out of it the second he can be.

He places his hands on the barn in front of him, missing it from the years he spent away from it. He turns to N.A.T. and K.A.T. preparing to move the ship into the barn, N.A.T. waving him away. He begins his walk through the trees towards where Alfred always ran off to without a second thought. His feet crunch over the leaves. His little robots chirp underneath him, nearly rolling into the opening if not for Ivan kneeling to hold them back. In front of them is a house, Alfred's. There's someone outside, talking to another person.

"He's not coming?" One of them asks sounding vaguely annoyed. The other, a blonde that Ivan vaguely remembers shrugs his shoulders.

"You know how it is Gil, ever since.." The human trails off, looking up. Ivan follows his gaze only to have his breathing catch at the sight of Alfred looking out of a window, his face planted to a small telescope.

"Who even is Ivan anyway?" The annoyed human asks as the two pile into one of the metal contraptions. They drive away but Ivan keeps his eyes on Alfred. His human looks to the retreating truck with a sigh, turning his head back to the stars. There are some wild beeps making his robots rattle in excitement. Alfred smiles down at his feet to where R. is then back to the sky.

"Hey Ivan," Alfred says softly, barely loud enough for Ivan to pick up on his words. He stands in the shadows, watching as Alfred tries his hardest to not cry.

"If you can hear me, please come back," Alfred voice cracks and he buries his face in his hands. His lesser heart snaps and he steps out into the clearing, letting his presence be known. It takes a few minutes of Alfred sniffling to finally drops his hands. Something feels like home when Alfred spies him on the ground. The human leans out the window then sprints away just as quick. Ivan waits. The door to the house slams open. Alfred is breathing heavily staring at him like he's not sure if he's actually there.

"Is it.. Is it you?" He asks quietly. Ivan stares for a moment longer, taking in the hope in his human's face. He nods gently and Alfred sprints into his arms.

"You're back," Alfred says to him. "You're back, you're back," The mantra hits his ears and Ivan wraps his human up tight in his arms. He clings tightly to him, not wanting to let him go again.

"How did you? I thought you had? Why did you?" Alfred asks too many incomplete questions. Ivan smiles at hearing him, dipping low to kiss the human quiet.

"New mission," He says by way of explanation. Alfred whimpers and kisses him again.

"You're not going to leave again are you?" He asks frantically. Ivan shakes his head. That's the last thing he wants, and he'll be damned if he has to leave Alfred behind one more time.

"I will stay," Ivan reassures, pulling Alfred in for another hug. The human sighs happily into his arms, laughter bubbling out of him.

"Mattie is never going to believe me," He says with happy tears in his eyes. Ivan laughs with him, brushing away those tears with gentle motions, and kisses him again, making plans to kiss the human for everyday after.

* * *

 **AN:** Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it (:


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